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Seven Wisconsin seniors head to state four years in a row

The seven seniors from Clayton, Wisconsin have gone to state for both volleyball and basketball four years in a row.

CLAYTON, Wis. — Like a well-oiled machine, the Clayton Bears girls basketball team doesn't need much direction.

At the Clayton, Wis. K-12 school, the seniors have been around the block.

"When we went to state freshman year for volleyball we were all so excited," Senior Kiana Fall said. "When basketball rolled around, we did it again. And we're like, 'wow this is great.' And it happened that we went every year."

You read that right. Fall says she and her team made it to state for both volleyball and basketball all four years in a row. It's also not just her in the same boat. It's six other girls: Marissa Gilbertson, Jaedyn Bussewitz, Alison Leslie, Kailey Ketz, Selena Levendoski and Kennedy Patrick.

Safe to say, all best friends.

"They're really like sisters," Coach Kevin Fall said. Fall says he's been coaching girls basketball for nine years now. "When we're talking business things they're all business but as soon as they get a chance, they're pretty silly."

After four years of hard work, they deserve a little silly, don't you think?

So to celebrate, and to send them off on a positive note to Green Bay for their tournament this weekend, Clayton threw a pep fest on Wednesday.

Because Clayton is a K-12 school, all 339 students were in attendance. Judging from the excitement, it was clear, the seven seniors are leaving behind a legacy.

"[It's] one school, a K-12 that is, everybody is one unit," Kiana Fall said. "It really is like a family."

What the seven athletes are leaving behind is not just scores or records, but something much more lasting, too.

"A lot of kids are looking up to be like us," Kiana Fall said. "That's what makes it so cool in a small school."

So with all that support, the seniors and the team went to shoot some hoops together one last time. What better way to unite a couple hundred, than a good game on the hardwood?

"We're a town of 571, heartbeat of one," Coach Fall said. "And everyone just follows these sports teams."

"Our past three years at the state tournament, we've lost in the first round and we have not made it to championship Saturday so we have really high stakes this year. We're hoping to get into that championship game."

The team is headed to Green Bay to play their first game in the tournament on Friday. Currently, the Bears are undefeated in women's basketball. 

Fun fact: the average Grade Point Average for the seven seniors is an impressive 3.8! 

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